Structural frames in existing office buildings may be unable to support higher lab loads or vibration sensitive equipment..
for 24/7 lab operations), shared lab functions (e.g.washrooms or stores), and IP sensitivities – with the size and type of life science business or tenant a driving factor in how these are managed.
In all cases, a lab design should be developed as soon as possible, with material and personnel flows and relevant zonings mapped out across all lab and common areas to identify any potential issues.. 8.Existing office buildings may struggle to accommodate more onerous laboratory fire and egress requirements.. A lab will most likely contain more flammable or hazardous materials and sources of ignition than an office.In most cases this can be addressed with special storage cabinets, fume cabinets, and good housekeeping.
However, where larger quantities or more dangerous materials are used (e.g.oxygen, or even inert materials like liquid nitrogen) this can be particularly challenging.
Further complications may also arise where labs divide up previously open plan offices with new partitions, corridors, airlocks, pods, or inner rooms – further complicating egress routes.. For office to lab conversions, fire and egress strategies must be reviewed holistically with the whole building in mind.
For example, neighbouring tenancies may currently rely on staff crossing through the new lab to reach a second means of escape, which might no longer be possible.This also includes the manufacturing location of materials and the transportation distance to site..
The recycled content of materials should be maximised without significantly impacting the technical characteristics of the material..Designing out waste can be achieved with clever and simple use of materials, eg.
altering the centre point of ceiling tiles to limit offcuts to a single side of the room, rather than both sides..Designing with/for components promotes offsite assembly of repeated modules.
(Editor: Elegant Shelves)